


a boy and a girl with a cat

by topazblue



Category: Free!
Genre: Edited, F/M, Fluff, i had to write a story involving a cat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-19 08:41:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20328274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/topazblue/pseuds/topazblue
Summary: haru & gou introspect their feelings for one another - whilst petting a cat.





	a boy and a girl with a cat

Hues of warm tones smeared the horizon, the once visible sun now disappearing behind the velvet clouds, the evening was greeted with a refreshing breeze. In the midst of all this, Haru floated in the school pool breathing in the familiar scent of chlorine surrounding his body. Practice ended an hour ago but Haru remained behind, it was a ritual to swim by himself, to swim freely.

Submerging into the vast liquid, Haru swam effortlessly, his limbs unaffected by the resistance of the water. His body twirled welcoming the current as it engulfed his frame, he was one with the water.

Ascending, he shook his damp ebony hair from his face and his vision locked on the girl crouched on her knees. She wasn't there a minute ago, in fact he thought she left the premise with the swim team members. Her back facing Haru, he observed her petite figure intently concentrating on something. Resting his arms against the concrete ledge of the pool:

"Kou?" he questioned.

Gou whipped her head around and his azure eyes gazed at her ponytail fluttering with the gentle wind. His eyes speedily flickered to the finger positioned against her plush lips - indicating the swimmer to be quiet.

Gou noticed his face contoured with confusion, so she mouthed something inaudible which he couldn't decipher.

"What?"

Instead of answering, she turned her back to him and leaned forward- manoeuvring something into her hands. Standing up, she spun her body around and Haru eyes widened at the sight of Gou cautiously cradling a cat. The feline which appeared out of nowhere - like a magic trick.

"Where did you find that cat?" asked a perplexed Haru.

"I found it here on the ground," Gou softly responded and the cat meowed, her eyes never leaving the cotton ball of white furr.

"Look at how adorable it is!" Absentmindedly, the girl tread her way to Haru, Gou bent down in front of him, relaxing the obedient cat on her grey plaid skirt. He was purposely aware that they were at arm's reach from one another, the territory was unfamiliar but for an odd reason he wasn't bothered.

Idly, his mind wondered into Gou - and her caring nature, he watched her cooing and petting the cat with affection. It was innate for her to be tender but at the same time assertive. His cobalt eyes unknowingly shifted to her face and he noticed tiny specks of freckles, dusted on the bridge of her nose. He was taken back as he had never studied her face this intently. In fact, he never studied her face, ever.

So why now?

"Haruka-senpai?" snapped out of his stupor, their eyes locked. Slightly uncomfortable from being caught staring at her, he removed his gaze from her to the cat.

Haru was about to stroke the cat, when Gou retracted her body from him.

"Your hands, they're wet!" grabbing the towel next to her she passed it to Haru, and he soundlessly wiped his damp hands.

Gou watched his hand softly pet the cat, it must have been enjoying his attention because the cat purred and meowed in response. Even though he was built with glorious muscles, the sight of his strong hand gingerly stroking a cat was sweet to see. In a way, it was like his swimming, smooth and precise.

"What?" Haru asked.

"Huh? - what?"

"You're smiling," he replied with an eyebrow raised.

"Can't I smile?" Gou retorted, with a grin.

Sighing at her sass, he looked at the tag on the cat's neck - confirming the feline wasn't a stray.

"The cat's called Yuki,"

"It's a pretty name," Gou giggled.

A breeze flew past and Gou involuntary shivered, they both suddenly realised the sun had completely set.

"Oh! I need to get going," 

She removed Yuki from her lap and the teenagers watched as the white cat skipped its way from the pool, until they could no longer see the white fur ball.

"Do you think Yuki will return?" Gou asked.

"Maybe."

It was quiet, but comfortable. The atmosphere wasn't tense, instead the complete opposite. They had never been alone, just the two of them. However, it felt organic.

"Haruka-senpai, shouldn't you get out now?" from the tone of her voice, it was more of a demand.

Ignoring her question, he asked, "How will you get home?"

She was completely thrown off guard by his question. He wasn't one to ask anything that involved her - now thinking of it - she realised this was the most they had ever spoken to each other.

Not that she was complaining.

"Train," she hummed.

Haru automatically responded "I'll walk you to the station."

It took a good second for him to dissect what he had uttered. Haru couldn't believe what came out of his mouth. He never offered anything to anyone. Gou must have thought the same, because her reaction was almost comical, with her brows raised and mouth gaped open.

"No, it's fine!" she hastily shook her head, hoping it was dark enough, so that he couldn't see the blush tainting her cheeks.

"It's not safe, i'll walk you," acquainted with his somewhat stubborn nature, she knew there was no room for disagreement. And if Gou had to completely honest - she didn't mind.

As he raised himself from the pool, Haru told Gou to wait for him while he showered and changed.

"How come you stayed behind?" he asked, walking in front of her towards the shower.

"I had work to do," she shrugged her shoulders.

"Hm,"

"I'll wait for you here -" she glided her eyes to his face with a small smile, as she sat on the bench.

"- And by the way, the reason why I smiled back then was because you looked cute with Yuki."

Silence.

Gou processed her words, and then processed it once more. Flustered, strings of incoherent words and noises left her mouth, until she just gave up and realised that staying quiet might be the best thing to do.

His eyes widened ever so slightly and he couldn't show his usual indifference, as there was a tinge of red plastered on his face. Turning his head around, he quickly made his way to get ready.

For the life of him, he couldn't understand why he felt so warm even though the evening pressed his bare torso with a chill. Perhaps walking her to the station might help his jumbled thoughts come together.

Gou didn't know why she was feeling warm, even though the light wind made her shiver. It wasn't cold enough to stop the heat rising on her cheeks. Maybe the train ride home could possibly answer her questions.


End file.
